LOCAL AND GENERAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 1895, 1 December 1923, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The composers of “Yes, We Have No Bananas To-day,” have already received £17,000 royalties on the sale of it. “We did our best for the Overseas Settlement delegates,” said Mr C. E. Daniell at the Masterton Chamber of Commerce. “We even showed them where the Canterbury iamb was grown here,” he added. “Why, we throw more into the pig bucket in New Zealand than the average man eats in many starved countries,” declared Mr Oscar Monrad, during his address to the Lunch Club. “You don’t know when you are well off. The country is being simply ruined for want of development.” A Wairarapa sheep farmer, who received 17%d per lb for his hogget wool at the Wellington sale, stated that two seasons ago he only realised 4%d and 5d for wool of a similar quality. The poll for a loan of £40,000 for street improvements at Te Awamutu resulted in the proposal being carried by a majority of 194. The total votes recorded were 317. A Maori named Terei Tureiti, alias Tu Reiki, was arrested at Awakino on Tuesday by Constable Blaikie on four charges of theft from dwellings. He was brought to New Plymouth and was remanded by Mr F. E. Wilson, J.P., yesterday afternoon till Wednesday.

Holders of cards in the name of doll competition are requested to return same to Mr J. E. Walker, as the competition is now closed.

By an advertisement in another column it will be seen that the Chamber of Commerce members propose to make a trip to Mokau at an early date. This is recognised as one of the finest motor trips in the North Island, and considering the important part it is going to take in the future of this town, a trip to this beauty spot will be most interesting and informative.

Attention is called to the public meeting, under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce, to be held in the Municipal Hall on Tuesday next. The subject will be the proposed new route to the Caves which, if it can be carried into effect, will make Te Kuiti the centre of the tourist traffic for this popular resort.

The bazaar to be held in aid of the Catholic Church on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next, will contain many unusual features. In addition to five stalls, there will be numerous side-shows, and concert items, including a delightful entertainment by the children. Admission will be free.

Waitomo Caves are at present attracting a large number of sightseers, and, according to a visitor who has just returned, no fewer than 96 people visited the locality on one day last week.

In replying to a question asked him at the Lunch Club, Palmerston North, on the question of immigration, Mr Oscar Monrad declared: “We are not entitled to hold this country as a part of the British Empire if we are not prepared to fill it up with people from overseas. It is of no use shifting the burden from one'part of the Empire to the other in the shape of weaklings, but New Zealand could easily absorb 30,000 people, especially » farmers and men following trades, ■ also manual labourers, who are willing to work.

Speaking about New Zealand propaganda at the Masterton Chamber of Commerce, Mr C. E. Daniell said that we were fond of talking about our bad roads, but we said nothing about our good ones, and our scenery, which, in his opinion, far surpassed California’s, and was not heard of outside the country. “One never * hears an American talking afiout his bad roads,” he added.

“On the whole, »New Zealand can congratulate itself on the progress made during the last yea]-,” stated Mr T. S. Weston, president of the New Zealand Employers’ Federation, at the annual meeting in Wellington. “Prices for primary products have been good—those farmers who were not hampered by their past mistakes have saved money, and those who have made mistakes short of the. irretrievable have been able to hold thenown once again, and in some cases make up in part their losses incurred in the previous two years. Probably throughout New Zealand not more than 10 per cent of the farmers were beyond recovery, and given fair prices for the next two years, 90 per cent of the agricultural and pastoral industries should again find itself on a firm basis, and any individual who does not look for extravagant profits should be content with his returns.

At a meeting of the Te Puke branch of the Farmers’ Union it was decided to request the Minister for Native Affairs, Hon. J. G. Coates, on his approaching visit to the district, to provide a means for the recovery of rates on native lands due to county councils. It was stated that the' Tauranga County Council had succeeded in collecting only £32 out of a total of £7OOO struck over a period of several years.